Phillips: ‘We’re not going to cow down to these guys’

The Dallas Cowboys are talking tough when it comes to the Saturday’s game against the unbeaten New Orleans Saints.

“They have earned where they are at,” tight end Jason Witten said on his weekly radio show. “You don’t just fall into wins. They are a good football team.

“But we’re not taking the mindset that we are the jayvee squad going to play the varsity. We feel like we are a good team and we are confident…It’s going to be a tough challenge, but we feel we are up to the task.”

“I don’t think our confidence is, ‘We can’t do it and we’ve got to do something else to be able to do it,’ ” Phillips said. “We have confidence in our football team. We’re not going to cow down to these guys. We think we can win every game we’ve been in so far. I believe we feel the same way going into this one.”

The Saints (13-0) are 7-point favorites against the Cowboys (8-5).

In other news, DeMarcus Ware returned to practice Thursday, a positive sign in his quest to play Saturday night.

Ware (neck) stretched with his teammates and then worked alone with a trainer, according to The Associated Press. The Pro Bowl outside linebacker wants to play against New Orleans, but he said he’ll leave the decision up to the medical staff.

Ware, who was injured Sunday in a collision with a Chargers offensive tackle, has never missed a game, starting all 77 since Dallas drafted him 11th overall in 2005.